Pokemon: Heroes Of Sinnoh
by Arcane Rainbows
Summary: Join Diamond, Pearl, Platina and all their friends/rivals/enemies as they journey through Sinnoh, winning badges, contests and taking on the evil Team Galactic! Rated T for some explicit scenes, I suppose. Please read and review!
1. Diamonds And Pearls

Hi, I'm Arcane Rainbows here, writing a fanfic for the first time, based on one of my favourite games- Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. I hope you enjoy it- please read and review!

Disclaimer- I do not own the Pokemon franchise, any pokemon within it, the characters in this story (however I do own the personifications of the characters in this story and any OCs I may create.)

**Pokemon: Heroes of Sinnoh**

**Chapter One- Diamonds and Pearls**

_One, the king of time- the seconds flow from his breath and the hours are trampled underfoot by his feet._

_One, the emperor of space-reality itself springs from his wings and swirls around his shoulders- all planes and dimensions._

_One, banished beyond time and space, beyond seconds and volume, beyond years and dimensions, beyond physics, beyond light- it is the strongest of them all, bound in archaic shadow, resting, sleeping, lying in wait. It will spring at the end of existence, when the last moment is wasted in the air, and space itself rolls back to crush its epicentre._

_Three, essences of humanity, wisdom to help us, emotions to define us, willpower to drive us. When all else is lost, they will choose the rightful heirs to save this world and all man stands for._

Diamond, engaged in his mythology book, did not notice Pearl until it was too late. Normally he would have been able to hear his best friend on the stairs, but his guard was down and for his laziness was rewarded with a tackle.

'Diamond, Diamond, Diamond! Come on, come on, come on! Let's go, let's go, let's g...'

'WHAT!?' shouted Diamond, who had become bored with Pearl's fast mouth, 'What is it, Pearl?'

'Let's go, Diamond, time to battle- we've completed trainer's school and this is the last opportunity we'll get before our adventures!' Pearl replied enthusiastically. Diamond and Pearl both had recently turned fourteen, and graduated from Jubilife Trainer Academy, with star grades. As such was the tradition, it meant they could go off on their own quests to become Pokemon Masters.

'Fine, Pearl, but be careful, as Forte and I are stronger now- you're going to lose!'

'You say that every time- but who wins? Pearl and Vis, that's who?' It was true that Diamond hadn't beaten Pearl yet, but it had _always_ been very close.

'Well maybe today's my lucky day!' finished Diamond. He grinned, got to his feet, pushed his spiky black hair out of his eyes and grabbed his beret in one motion. The two boys met Diamond's mother, Johanna, on the stairs.

'Going off to the lake?' she inquired.

'Ye-'

'Oh yeah, Diamond and I were going to have a little battle before we leave next week!' Pearl but in.

'OK then, enjoy yourselves,' smiled Johanna, and went upstairs. Diamond sighed and grabbed his blue jacket and white scarf- a red t-shirt and black jeans wasn't cutting it with this cold weather. Pearl swung his scarf around his jersey and opened the door.

'Race you there?'

Diamond looked up and smiled.

'OK!' and before Pearl could react he was off past him.

'Wait for me!' cried Pearl, shutting the door and rushing after.

At the lake, Diamond and Pearl stopped to catch their breath before staring out across the water.

'How many times do you think we've come here?' asked Pearl inquisitively.

'Thousands,' grunted Diamond back, fixated on a slight shimmer in the middle.

'Do you think this is it? The last time?' Pearl looked at Diamond directly now.

'I hope not Pearl, I really do,' sighed Diamond, who took out a pokeball, 'Care for this battle then?'

'You'r e on!' replied Pearl, throwing his ball, 'Go Vis!'

The ball opened and out popped Vis, Pearl's Gible. It chomped at thin air fiercely.

'Fine then. I choose you, Forte!' Diamond sent out Forte, his Riolu, who immediately adopeted a combative stance.

'This is it, Pearl!' Diamond shouted. Pearl nodded, and together the two trainers shouted-

'BEGIN!'

'Forte, use quick attack!' Forte flashed into a blur, striking past Vis and knocking it back. Then it sprung off its legs and back flipped in front of Vis's face- Diamond smiled.

'Force Palm now!'

'Ri!' Forte's hand glowed white and it smashed Vis's head with powerful energy. However Vis shook it off and came back- Pearl shouted a command.

'Vis, get him with Dragonbreath!'

'Gible!' It drew a large breath and released a cloud of power at Forte several times- it dodged the first two, but fell victim to the third and flipped back. A jolt of electricity went down Forte's body, frightening Diamond.

_Damn, he's been paralysed_ thought Diamond. Pearl simply smirked.

'Now Vis, Headbutt!' However Diamond had an idea. As Vis was just about to hit and finish Forte, he shouted out.

'Forte, Reversal!' Forte immediately struck a hand out and threw Vis straight into a tree with one swing. Vis got back up and stared Forte down. The two pokemon were about to charge when-

'STOP!!'

All four looked for the source of the noise. A girl who looked slightly younger than Diamond and Pearl emerged from some bushes. Clad in a big red coat and miniskirt with a blue handbag, and wearing big furry boots, she looked quite the figure.

'Stop fighting, you'll agitate the wild pokemon here!'

'Who are you to talk?' retorted Pearl, 'We were about to finish anyway!'

'My name is Platina- I am personal assistant to Professor Rowan of Sandgem Town. He should be com-'

'Hey, I know that name!!' but in Pearl excitedly.

'You do?' questioned Diamond. He was more well read than Pearl, but didn't remember this Rowan character.

'Yeah, my dad told me about him. He's quite the celebrity in Kanto, but fairly unknown over here, as he's been there for 10 or so years now. I didn't know he returned.' Pearl explained, 'He works with Professor Oak, and is the leading scientist in the world on the subject of evolution.'

Platina seemed impressed. 'I couldn't have put it much better myself. Well actually I could have, but still, that's not bad. Yes Professor Rowan has returned from Kanto a month or two ago, and I'm helping him now that I've graduated.'

'You were at our school?'

'Yeah, which is why I know your names, Diamond and Pearl,' she smiled. Pearl seemed perplexed while Diamond mulled over her image in his head. By this time the two pokemon had gotten bored. Forte stumbled over to Diamond's foot.

'Oh sorry, I forgot,' he pulled out two berries from a bag in his pocket. 'Here's a Cheri and an Oran!'

Forte happily munched on the two berries and immediately its condition improved. Diamond and Pearl looked at each other and nodded.

'Professor Rowan then, is he coming?' Diamond asked, 'I'd like to meet the great man himself.'

Suddenly an old man clad in a grey trenchcoat emerged from the same bushes that Platina had come out of. He had white hair and a matching beard and a chiselled, weathered face, with stormy eyes.

'I'm Professor Rowan,' he introduced himself, 'Someone called?'

TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. The Mystery Of Mesprit

Sorry for not updating, but I wanted to write a bit more of the story first.

Disclaimer- I do not own Pokemon- Nintendo does. Kudos to them.

Chapter Two- The Mystery of Mesprit

'You're Professor Rowan!?' exclaimed Pearl, 'Wow! I'm Pearl and this is Diamond.'

'Nice to meet you too,' replied Rowan gruffly. He pulled out an odd red device with two screens, tapped the bottom one several times until a light on it started flashing, then held it around like a metal detector.

'Um...sorry to ask Professor, but what's that?' asked Pearl, the more curious of the two boys. Diamond too was intrigued by the strange device.

'This? This is an invention of mine, the Pokedex. It's a high tech digital encyclopaedia of every pokemon in the world. Technically my good friend Professor Oak invented it, but I've upgraded it considerably,' Rowan explained, 'Right now, Platina and I are searching for a mysterious mirage pokemon that is believed to sleep at the bottom of this lake. Ancient folklore says it is called Mesprit, and it appears to travellers here as a shimmer in the middle. Diamond's mind immediately flashed back to the shimmer he had seen earlier.

'I saw it,' he blurted out. Rowan raised an eyebrow and Diamond continued.

'I saw it, a shimmer in the middle, right before Pearl and I started battling. It was small, but very distinct.'

Rowan clapped his hands.

'Excellent. That matches the exact description history gives us. If only there was a way of get-'

He was cut off by a high pitched whirring sound, a swoosh overhead and the sudden appearance of a pink headed pixie in front of their eyes.

'Mesprit!' Platina exclaimed, 'Let's capture it, professor!'

'That's Mesprit?' observed Pearl, 'It has dreadlocks!'

He threw a pokeball and Vis burst out, snapping its jaw.

'Yeah, Vis! Weaken Mesprit with Dragonbreath!' he commanded. Vis fired off a round, but to everyone's astonishment, the attack went straight through Mesprit. Diamond stood up, sending out Forte. He had an idea.

'Forte, use Foresight!' Forte's eyes flashed white and he assumed a combatitive stance.

'Now we can hit it!' exclaimed Pearl, 'Vis, use Headbutt!'

Vis jumped towards Mesprit, but Mesprit swung one of its two tails around and knocked Vis back towards Pearl.

'Don't worry, I have a faster move,' said Diamond, 'Forte, Quick Attack!'

Forte nodded and sped at hyper speed towards Mesprit, but Mesprit swung its other tail to slam it back. Forte groaned as Mesprit started glowing.

'It can't be evolving!?' exclaimed Rowan.

'No it's not!' continued Platina as Mesprit started to shimmer, 'It's phasing out!'

Mesprit disappeared, but the trainers were greeted with a few squawks as six Starly flew out from the trees.

'Oh great,' whinged Platina, 'We only have four pokemon.' She threw two pokeballs.

'Go Plum and Peach!' A Piplup and a Pachirisu appeared.

Forte and Vis squared off against two, while Platina's pokemon took on another two. However the remaining two settled on Diamond and Pearl.

Rowan however had other plans. He took out two pokeballs from his coat and threw them to the boys.

'Take these! You can keep them!' he shouted over the wingbeats.

'Right!' replied Diamond and Pearl, 'Go Pokemon!'

The balls opened and two pokemon appeared. One was a green quadruped, with a small plant on its head and a shell on its back. The other was a red monkey with sharp claws and a flame shooting from behind.

'Turtwig!'

'Chimchar!'

Diamond stood behind the Turtwig, while Pearl took the Chimchar.

'A Turtwig, nice. You're a creature of the earth, so I'll give you a nickname to suit that. How do you like 'Atlas' – like a map of the earth?'

'Turt!' Atlas nodded. Pearl too had thought of a name.

'Chimchar, I'm Pearl. What do think about being called 'Sol', reflects your hot power, no?'

Sol scratched its head- however the Starlies now attacked the four. Diamond was quick to act.

'Forte, quick attack that one! Atlas, get it with Bite!' Forte leapt at one blindingly fast while Atlas jumped onto one and bit down on its wing. They careered off towards the trees when-

'Atlas, use razor leaf!' Atlas jumped off its wounded enemy and flashed a few leaves towards it, slicing across the back and finishing it off. Forte too had managed to get above its Starly.

'Forte, finish it with Force Palm!' Forte's hand glowed bright as it smashed the Starly directly into the ground. It landed gracefully as Atlas came up. Diamond smiled and returned the two.

Parallel to what had just happened, Pearl was commanding Vis and Sol effectively.

'Vis, shoot him down with Dragonbreath!' he shouted.

The Starly was hit by the energy and swooped low- Sol leapt quickly.

'Fury Swipes!'

'Char!' Sol grabbed hold of the Starly and began cutting at it with quick blows-as they were about to crash it jumped from it at the other Starly.

'Ember! Vis too, use headbutt!' Sol released fire from his mouth, burning the Starly's wings. It fell straight into the path of Vis's jump and was finished instantly. The two pokemon landed and cheered. Pearl thanked them and returned them.

Platina had easily managed to dispatch her foes- Plum the Piplup immobilized them with its Bubbles, while Peach the Pachirisu finished them with its powerful Spark attack. The three trainers high-fived, however Rowan was more serious.

'That was lucky,' he sighed, 'But we need to be more careful. And we didn't get Mesprit.'

The trainers mulled over the failure of their mission. However they were more cheerful on the way back to Twinleaf.

'You know,' Rowan commented, 'You two are very talented. How would you like to help me in my work?'

'What kind of work?' Pearl asked.

'Going around Sinnoh with the Pokedex, completing it. And of course there's also the gyms to conquer- the Pokemon league even! Platina here wants to win that, but she also wants to be a Coordinator,' Rowan explained.

Platina blushed 'Yeah, its a dream of mine to win the Master Contests in Hearthome.'

'Cool. But I'd prefer to be champion!' said Diamond.

'I'd like to win the Battle Tower!' said Pearl, 'Being champion means you're the best trainer in Sinnoh, but being the Tower Lord means you're the best trainer in the WORLD!'

'So then, boys , do you accept?' asked Rowan. Without hesitation the two boys responded.

'Oh yes, we accept!'

--

A/N- Hope you liked it. Expect - Chapter Three- In Jubilife - soon! Please read and review!


	3. In Jubilife

Disclaimer- I do not own Pokemon. Nintendo does. I however do own any OCs in this story. THEY ARE MINE! HAHAHA!

Chapter Three- In Jubilife

'Finally! We made it!' exclaimed Pearl as he strode through the city walls, 'Jubilife!'

Jubilife was a futuristic metropolis- with skyscrapers, a monorail and the trio's old trainer's school. A clean, safe city, it was always voted one of the coolest places to live in Sinnoh, behind Hearthome. The trio wandered around the boulevards for a while until Pearl got hungry. After buying some lunch, they sat down in a park and decided what to do.

'Let's go drop in on School, see what its like a few months on,' said Platina. Diamond had no objections, so they turned to Pearl.

'Go back!? You must be kidding me, I don't want to go back to that stuffy old place!' Pearl exclaimed.

'Oh come on Pearl, it will be fun!' Diamond persuaded.

'Fine...' Pearl grunted. They got up and started to go.

'Diamond, Pearl, Platina! Good to see you!' The school's principal, Dr Sanders, was around the building. The school was a boarding school and there was always something going on, even in the holidays.

'Hi, Dr Sanders, how have things been since we graduated?' Diamond asked.

'Oh, same old, same old,' he replied, 'but this _is _a surprise! Are you three travelling together?'

'Yeah, we met by the lake the other day. I'm working for Professor Rowan, and so are these two now,' Platina explained.

'Excellent! I have to go to a meeting now with the board, but feel free to look around!' Dr Sanders said.

'OK, bye!'

'OK, that wasn't _so_ bad, wasn' it, Pearl?' Diamond asked.

'I guess not...' Pearl mumbled a reply, 'But what are we going to do now?'

'Well we're trainers so we can stay at a Pokemon Centre tonight then we can go to Oreburgh tomorrow. You two are doing the gyms right?' Platina inquired.

'Yeah, of course!' The boys perked at the mention of gyms.

'Well, then let's hit the monorail!'

They had been riding the monorail for 20 minutes, when there was a loud blast a few carriages away. Suddenly the monorail slowed to a halt.

'What was that? An explosion?' muttered Diamond.

'Maybe,' replied Pearl.

'Shall we check it out, then?'

'Yeah!'

Before Platina could beckon them to sit down they had crossed into the next carriage where they were confronted with three people in what looked like space suits. Other than that the carriage was empty- this was where the driver would have been, but the monorail was computerized these days.

'Hey, spaceboys, did you do this?' Pearl exclaimed. Diamond elbowed him to be quiet, but Pearl looked determined.

'SPACEBOYS?' they exclaimed. The one in the middle pointed to a letter G on his chest.

'Spaceboys? We are Team Galactic, makers of a new world and...'

His monologue was interrupted by his colleagues.

'Let's get them!' and they threw three pokeballs.

Out popped a Bronzor, a Stunky and a Glameow. They hissed at Diamond and Pearl. By this time Platina had come in.

'Oh, you had to get in a fight, didn't you?' She threw a pokeball.

'Go Plum!'

Plum popped out and nodded its head. The other two followed suit.

'Go Atlas!'

'Go Sol!'

Atlas and Sol lined up and then the six pokemon clashed.

'Atlas, get the Glameow! Razor Leaf!' A few leaves flashed and hit the Glameow- it yelped in pain.

'Huh, Glameow, use tackle!' the grunt shouted. The cat lunged off its tail at Atlas, but Diamond yelled for a dodge. Atlas jumped sideways out of the way and unleashed another Razor Leaf attack. Straight into Glameow's face. It screamed and leapt back at Atlas.

'Fury Swipes!' the Galactic grunt shouted.

Glameow let out a series of scratches at Atlas's head. A few connected, but Atlas was able to shrug the rest off. As Glameow began to falter, Diamond shouted.

'Atlas, finish it! Bite!'

Atlas chomped down on Glameow's head and held it until the pokemon fell unconscious due to the pain. It then spat it out at the Galactic trainer, who looked shocked, shocked that a _kid_ had beaten him.

Meanwhile Pearl was fighting the Bronzor.

'Heh, I've got the type advantage here! Sol, use Ember!'

Sol nodded and spat out a small fireball at the Bronzor. However the Galactic grunt simply smirked as Bronzor span round and reflected it back.

'It'll take more than that to scratch Bronzor!' he grinned, 'Confusion!'

Psychic waves poured out of Bronzor, enveloping Sol and making it cry out in pain. Pearl gritted his teeth and racked his brains for a plan. Suddenly it dawned on him.

'Sol, use fury swipes!' The Chimchar leapt into the air above Bronzor and slashed at it a few times, making a sound like chalk on a board as it imbedded its claws into the steel type. Before Bronzor could react however, Pearl called out another attack.

'Finish it off with Ember!' he shouted.

Sol spat fire into the weakened Bronzor at point blank range- a charred metal lump fell to the ground as Sol dropped onto Pearl's shoulder.

'NO!' screamed the Galactic grunt, 'Impossible!'

Platina had taken on the final grunt, who was using the Stunky. The enemy pokemon was very fast and kept jumping all around Plum, who was taking a few hits.

'Plum, use Bubble!' Platina commanded. Plum spat out a large bubble which missed the Stunky. Most of her attacks so far had failed to connect with the Stunky. At this rate she would lose the battle.

'_Argh, I can't get a hit in on this thing. He's too fast! If he were slower I'd be able to smash him but...I can make him slower with Plum's bubble, but only if it hits. Yet he's too fast for me to hit him...A Catch 22! ARRRGH!' _Dawn thought. Then she had an idea.

'_But if I make it so he can't dodge...!'_ A smile of realization spread over her face.

'Stunky, get this prat with Night Slash!'

Stunky leapt at Plum with a pitch black claw, but Platina had it sorted.

'Plum, Bubble now!' she shouted. Plum released a massive bubble which engulfed the Stunky. It quickly broke free, but appeared drained.

'Ha, try moving that fast now!' Platina taunted, 'Plum, let's turn things around! Get him with your Pound attack!'

Plum sprang forward and smacked Stunky in the head, briefly dazing it. As it shook the effect off it noticed an open mouth directly in front.

'Water Gun!'

The jet of water smashed into Stunky and carried it into the window, even cracking the glass such was its power.

'It's the power of Torrent, my pokemon's ability. When it is hurt, its water moves do far more damage than usual. No wonder your Stunky fell so quickly once I trapped it.' Platina explained to the starstruck grunt.

The grunts gaped, their pokemon defeated by these teenagers. The one in the middle, the leader, pulled out a walkie talkie.

'This is Comet 1 to Pluto, Comet 1 to Pluto. We have the train generator...' Diamond noticed a clear rectangular device with complicated circuitry inside. The centre was glowing red hot.

'...however..._complications_ have prevented us from carrying out Objective B. Permission to abort?'

A crackly 'Yes' emerged from the speaker. The grunts nodded to each other before running backwards into the front cabin and flipping out the shattered window. Diamond and Pearl ran after them, but the grunts were out of sight when they looked out the gap.

'Huh, Team Galactic,' Pearl muttered, 'Who were they anyway?'

'I don't know,' replied Diamond, _But I bet we're going to find out._

Once the emergency services had arrived and evacuated the monorail, the trio headed towards the Pokemon center, which was now in proximity. In front of the entrance they saw an anxious man, frantically promoting something.

'Hi there!' he smiled falsely as he saw the trio, 'Would you be interested in buying a Poketch?'

He gestured to a funky looking watch on his wrist.

'Poketch?' Diamond looked puzzled, but Platina immediately buzzed in.

'A Poketch! They have so many cool applications you can program in, and all in a watch. Oh, they're so cool! But why's no one buying them?' she asked the salesman.

'To tell you the truth, the Pokegear + has got a monopoly on the market for these- I say Bah! as if you look at the features of the Pokegear, the only things it's got going for it is a low meg. Cellphone and a tinny radio. But people like it for the _brand_!' He spat out the last word.

'Well I like the Poketch, how much?' Platina asked.

'Oh, they're very reasonably priced, only 15000 pokeyen for one and you get a full warranty and customer service, plus several bonus apps.' The salesman pulled out a watch.

'I have the cash, are you guys going to get one?' Platina asked the other two.

Diamond pulled out a card, while Pearl fiddled for a wallet. But both the boys had part time jobs around Twinleaf and had saved up some money. They both agreed to buy one each.

'Do they come in different colours?' Diamond asked. The one the man had on his wrist was black, but the one he had pulled out was yellow.

'Yes, there are several different styles, do you have a preference?' the salesman explained.

'Yes, can I take a blue one please?' Diamond was answered with a pristine blue watch. Pearl bought a green one, while Platina went for a red one. They settled the purchase and went in to the Pokemon centre for the night. Before settling down, the trio let out their pokemon in the garden of the centre. Forte played with Plum, Peach bounded around the garden with Sol, while Vis and Atlas were content to remain silent together, watching.

'Our pokemon like eachother, don't they?' Platina noticed. The other two picked up.

'Hey yeah, they do!' exclaimed Pearl. At that moment in the very back of Diamond's mind, something spiked.

_Not just pokemon..._

Soon Diamond went for a shower and hit the sack. He was exhausted after his battles and experiences that day. In the midst of sleep he began to dream.

_There was a blue haired girl standing in a meadow. Flowers in vibrant colours sprang out of the ground, while a cloudless blue sky enfolded overhead. Diamond felt himself running to meet the girl, but as he laid a hand on her shoulder to spin her round and find out who she was, the scene changed._

_He was standing in some ruins. A long straight path flanked by points rising like spears out of the ground. The ruins appeared to be on a mountain top as there was a wonderful panoramic view- or there would have been if not for the grey cloud that shrouded it out. Beside him stood Platina and Pearl, each of them flanked by a different small pixie like pokemon. Diamond heard a whirring sound and Mesprit, the pokemon he had seen at Lake Verity flew out.Before he could react he was aware of a rumbling from further on in the ruins. A man stood with his back to them. He was holding a red chain which was embedded into a hole in the ground. He grabbed hold of the chain and pulled. Suddenly there was a flash and Diamond felt himself being sucked away somewhat. Mesprit and the other two pixies whirred in warning. Diamond looked up to see two colossal beasts shrouded in shadow save for a blue light that shone of one's chest and dual pink one's that shone out of the other's shoulders. Then the lights intensified and they screamed..._

Diamond woke up suddenly. However he was still only in the bed at the centre, Platina slept peacefully on the other side of the room, whilst Pearl sprawed out on the bunk above him, with his arm hanging over the side. His snores resonated around the room.

_Just a dream_, thought Diamond, and went back to sleep.

Authors Note- Thanks for the reviews- more is better!


	4. Cranidos Pain Rampardos Gain

Disclaimer- I don't own Pokemon. Nintendo does. Go fish...

Chapter Four- Cranidos Pain Rampardos Gain

Oreburgh City, a mining centre buried in the foot of Mt Coronet- also a fully fledged trainers' paradise. A Pokemon Centre; a gym; a pokemart...There were also always cool rock types to catch in Oreburgh Gate or the mines.

The trio emerged out of the cave after a day of walking east from Jubilife. Diamond looked around.

'Oreburgh, finally,' he murmured. Pearl flexed his arms.

'Yeah, time for our first badges!' he exclaimed, 'Let's find the Pokemon centre, eat and then FIGHT!'

'Stop being so hasty with everything you do, Pearl,' Platina chided him softly. Yet they went anyway.

At the Pokemon centre, the trio were eating and discussing the upcoming battle.

'So I hear that the gym leader uses Rock types,' said Pearl, in between bites of a club sandwich, 'and that he's the son of another gym leader too.'

'Yeah, I think he's called Roark,' replied Diamond, who was in the middle of some sushi, 'He works the mines here.'

'Did I hear you say Roark?' an old man asked, coming over to the trio, 'The Gym Leader?'

'Yeah, why?' replied Platina.

'If you want to challenge him, you'll have to find him in the mines. He doesn't haunt his gym often. Too much work to be done.'

'Thanks for the info sir, but if you don't mind me asking, how do you know so much about Roark?' Diamond asked curiously.

'Aha! He's my nephew!' the old man replied cheerily, 'Old Man Mine, at your service. Roark's father and gym leader of Canalave City, Byron, is my younger brother.'

'Cool!' said Pearl.

'It is- I have to go now, but good luck in your gym challenges.'

'Thanks!'

Platina had decided to stay at the pokemon centre for the afternoon, while Diamond and Pearl went off into the mines to find Roark. A friendly miner had told them where Roark was working that day.

'Right at the bottom,' Pearl frowned, looking at the sketch map he had, 'But we can take that mine cart there to get there quicker.' A mine cart with two miners in thundered down some tracks.

'Oh no,' said Diamond, 'I'm not going in one of those. Crazy things like that only happen in movies, video games and fan fiction- not real life.'

But Pearl wasn't listening and had already hopped in a mine cart. He released the break and...WHOOSH!

_Aww shit._

Diamond jumped headfirst into the next cart and released the brake on his.

WHOOSH!

Twist! Turn! Left! Right! Jump! AAAAARGH! Oh yeah! Phew, we're alive!

'Pearl, I'm going to kill you,' Diamond muttered, catching up with his friend.

'Never mind that! Look, it's Roark!' Pearl pointed cheerfully. This caught Roark's attention, who spun round and waved at the two boys.

'Hullo there! What can I do for you?' he said.

'Hi, I'm Pearl and this is Diamond, we'd like to challenge you in your gym,' Pearl replied.

'Well, you're very brave to come get me from all the way down here- most people usually wait,' Roark commented. Diamond simply sighed.

'-but OK! Tomorrow at 9 sound good for the first of you? Then the other can fight me the day after.'

'Yeah, definitely. Diamond, can I fight first? Please?' Pearl begged his friend.

'...OK...'

'ALL RIGHT!'

After trudging out of the mines and eating, the boys flopped into bed to find Platina asleep.

'She's pretty good looking in lingerie,' Pearl whistled softly.

'Pearl!' Diamond slapped his head. But he was thinking the same thing.

_He's right. She is quite pretty._

9 am. Pearl was standing in Roark's gym, looking at all the rocks dotted around the battlefield. Roark stated the rules.

'The challenger and the gym leader may battle with up to 2 pokemon each, in a singles battle. Both may switch pokemon when they want.'

'Right,' Pearl threw a pokeball. Out emerged a monkey with fire coming from its behind.

'Let's go, Sol!' Pearl cheered as his Chimchar leapt into battle. Roark looked bemused.

'A Fire type pokemon? Bad choice, my friend! Cranidos, come on out!' he said, throwing a pokeball. Out emerged a bipedal dinosaur with a huge head. It roared at Sol, who simply scratched his head.

'Let's begin!' Roark exclaimed, 'Cranidos, headbutt!' The dinosaur began charging straight at

'Sol, get it with Ember!' The monkey spat out a jet of flame hitting Cranidos' head straight on, but the dinosaur didn't seem to be affected. It kept charging and smashed into Sol. The Chimchar yelped in pain as it was sent flying. It crashed into the ground on the other side of the stadium and groaned.

'Sol, get up! You can do it!' encouraged Pearl. Sol struggled to its feet, but then it was ready to go.

'OK, Sol, different strategy! Go, get it with Flame Wheel!' Pearl commanded. Sol ran forward this time, engulfed in fire. It jumped, like a flaming buzz saw, and drove straight into Cranidos, tackling it backwards. This time it looked like the attack had caused some damage.

'All right! Sol, follow it up with Fury Swipes!' Sol leapt in the air, claw flashing, and brought down the swipe...only to be caught by Cranidos's short arm.

'WHAT?' exclaimed Pearl. Roark grinned.

'Cranidos, throw it, then double headbutt!'

'Oh shi-' Cranidos span round and flung Sol off towards the wall. It then ran quickly after the Chimchar and smashed into it with it's head, knocking the Chimchar into the air, before leaping and headbutting it into the wall. There was a loud 'CHAR!' as Sol, bruised and slightly bloodied, slid down the wall.

'Oh no! Sol, are you all right?'

Sol gave a weak 'Chim!' and got back up again. Platina gasped.

'Sol's so tough!' Diamond nodded.

_I wonder how hard my battle will be_, he thought.

'Sol, his Cranidos is weakening! Let's get it with a Flame Wheel now and win! GO!'

'Cranidos, match him! Headbutt!'

The two pokemon sped towards each other and collided hard in the centre of the battlefield. There was a loud crash and dust flew up, hiding the outcome of the collision. Soon it subsided however and both pokemon were panting heavily.

'Sol, come back for now!' Pearl called, and fired the red beam.

'Cranidos, you as well,' Roark said, returning his pokemon, 'Now, go! Sudowoodo!'

Out popped a treelike pokemon, made out of rock. It flexed its arms and assumed a battle stance.

'Su-DO-Woo-DO!'

Pearl grinned. He threw a pokeball in the air and his Gible burst out with a mighty roar.

'Hey, Vis, you psyched?' he asked.

'Gib, gib!' Vis nodded and made its move.

'OK, Vis, use Tackle!' Vis charged at Sudowoodo, who without thinking dodged to the side.

'Heh,' Pearl smirked, 'Vis, we got him where we want him- use Dragon Rage!'

Vis roared as shockwaves span out and smashed into Sudowoodo, driving it away. It fell, and caught itself with its hand.

'Hmph! Sudowoodo, use Rock Throw!' Roark shouted. Sudowoodo picked up a few large rocks and chucked them at the Gible.

'Vis, dodge them and attack with Take Down!' Pearl shouted. Vis escaped two, but the third and fourth rocks hit it and hurt it. It looked slightly dazed, but shook it off.

'Looks like we can't go in from the front! Vis, use Dig!' Vis nodded and quickly burrowed into the ground, then powered towards Sudowoodo- yet it didn't strike.

'Sudowoodo's on its toes now,' Roark explained, 'It'll dodge your strike. Sudowoodo, stand your ground.'

'Bad mistake,' Pearl grinned, 'Vis, now!'

A dragonbreath erupted from the ground and hit Sudowoodo in the face- it looked slightly confused. Vis quickly burrowed round to behind it and fired another. Sudowoodo tried to dodge it when it heard the sound but it still got him, although not as badly. Then Vis shot out of the earth, in a Take Down. Smashing into Sudowoodo, it knocked it clean out.

'Yeah, Vis! You did it!' Pearl cheered. Diamond and Platina were impressed.

'He's really strong!' Platina exclaimed.

_I wonder if I will be strong in my battle_, Diamond wondered anxiously.

'Not bad, kid!' Roark was also impressed, 'But it'll take more than that to beat my Cranidos! Go!'

'Crani-DOS!' it roared as it emerged. Then it began a headbutt charge.

'Vis, dig!' Vis dived into the earth just in time. It had been wounded by the rock throws and one good hit would take it out.

'Right, now circle round and take out Cranidos! It's weak!' Vis looped around and rushed at Cranidos who apparently couldn't see where its prey had gone. But as Vis jumped, it _knew_.

'Vis missed!?' Yes, Vis had. Cranidos stepped aside, and as the Gible soared harmlessly threw the air-

'Cranidos, double headbutt!' BAM, the first headbutt, then BAM again! Vis didn't stand a chance.

'OK Vis, you did really well,' Pearl said recalling it, 'Now go! Sol!'

Sol popped out, raring for a fight. It hissed at Cranidos.

'Sol, get it with Flame Wheel!' Sol enflamed, leapt at Cranidos, but the dinosaur didn't seemed fazed by the attack this time.

'Cranidos, headbutt!' The two collided again, but this time Sol flew backwards. It was hurt badly.

'Oh no! Sol!' However surprisingly the Chimchar got up. Then it burst into flames.

'Chim-CHAR!!' it roared loudly.

'Blaze...' Pearl muttered, 'But my pokedex is showing it's far too powerful! What's this?'

The flames had gotten white now, Sol had disappeared in them. Suddenly Cranidos too roared as white light engulfed it, rocks being sucked off the floor due to the force.

There was a final flash and instead of Cranidos and Chimchar stood two different pokemon, both resembling the previous fighters, but more powerful and taller.

'Sol evolved into Monferno!' Platina gasped.

'And Cranidos evolved into...' Diamond was cut off by a roar.

'Ram-par-DOS!!'

Sol the Monferno simply smirked. Pearl's pokedex flashed.

'Oh yeah! Sol, with your evolution you learned a new attack! Let's go!' Pearl shouted.

'MACH PUNCH!'

'Headbutt!'

The two pokemon rushed at each other- despite their evolutions, they were still incredibly tired. It was the make or break attack. But Sol was faster.

'Mach Punch striked first- I win, Roark!' Pearl exclaimed. And it did, Sol punching out into Rampardos' face, knocking it out.

'Well done, Rampardos! You battled well,' Roark said to his new pokemon, returning it. Then he walked over to face Pearl.

'Well done, Pearl. You battled very well, and as a representative of the Elite 4 and the Champion, I am proud to award you this badge- the Coal Badge, it's yours.'

'Thanks very much, Roark! I'll see you tomorrow when Diamond has his match. Now, to the pokemon centre! I need to get these guys healed up, and I need to eat! You guys coming?' Pearl asked. They nodded as Roark waved them off.

One thought was on Diamond's mind.

_Shit. I have to face Rampardos tomorrow!_

The next day, the sky was blue, the grass was green and Atlas was in heated battle against Roark's Graveller.

'Atlas, dodge the Rollout, then use Razor Leaf!' Diamond commanded. The Turtwig dodged the rock and sent in some sharp leaves, the grass energies severely hurting the Graveller, which unfolded.

'Atlas, finish it off! Bite!'

'Turt!' With a leap and a latch, Atlas chomped down on Graveller's arm- the continued beatings taking its toll, Graveller passed out.

'Yeah!' Diamond cheered. Then he remembered what came next.

_Shit. Rampar-_

'-DOS!' as the dinosaur flashed into reality. It began a charge towards the Turtwig, which dodged.

'Atlas, Razor Leaf!' A few connected, but they had little effect. Rampardos span and charged again.

'Headbutt!' Roark shouted. It connected- Atlas was sent flying, a collision with the wall followed and the turtle dropped. However the return beam of the pokeball caught it mid fall.

'Good job, Atlas, but now it's Forte's turn!' Diamond threw his second pokeball.

'Rio-LU!' Forte burst out and assumed a combat stance.

Rampardos saw its new prey and attacked. But Forte had heard battle stories all night and was ready.

'Forte, quick attack!' It sped like a blur into Rampardos, stunning it, but not causing much damage. That however wasn't the point.

'Forte, Force Palm now!' A powerful thrust into Rampardos's face caused obvious pain to the giant dinosaur. Roark gasped.

'Rampardos, shake it off! Rock Throw!' Rampardos roared and picked up a giant rock which it threw into Forte. The Riolu was tossed in the air, in pain but in charge.

'Forte, now's your chance! Finish this battle with Force Palm again!'

Forte nodded and smashed its glowing palm directly into Rampardos head again, defeating it.

'The bigger the come, the harder they fall,' Pearl whistled.

'Yeah, go Diamond!' Platina cheered.

'Well done Forte!' Diamond said returning his pokemon.

'Unlucky, Rampardos,' Roark returned his defeated dinosaur again. He went to shake hands with Diamond.

'Like I said with Pearl, you're extremely talented. I'm proud to give you this Coal Badge,' he smiled.

'Thanks,' said Diamond. He tossed the badge, before putting it in his case.

'Take care then! Goodbye!' Roark waved the trio out.

'Bye!'

'Well, the best way towards Eterna City is via Cycling Road, but we can't go that way. I guess we should go through Floaroama Town and Eterna Forest,' said Platina, holding a map.

'Yeah, I agree,' said Diamond.

'Uh guys,' Pearl said, raising a hand, 'I'm going to split for a while. Mt Coronet has some cool pokemon to see, and I can always go up Cycling Road to get to Eter a. Don't worry, I can go against the flow.'

'Well then, take care of yourself buddy,' said Diamond, putting out a hand.

'You too,' Pearl shook, before heading off north.

_Be careful_, thought Platina, as she headed west with Diamond.

Authors Note- Yeah, hoped you liked the double chapter. Expect a break now however- I'm going away on half-term. Please read and review!


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